Control device, control method, and flight vehicle device

ABSTRACT

[Object] To provide a control device which enables a flight vehicle device to obtain a highly precise image.[Solution] Provided is the control device including an illuminating control unit configured to adjust a light amount of an illuminating device according to an inclination of a body of a flight vehicle device that has an imaging device configured to photograph a photographing target and the illuminating device configured to illuminate the photographing target.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/510,407 filed Mar. 10, 2017, which is a National Phase ofPCT/JP2015/073674 filed Aug. 24, 2015, and claims priority to JapanesePatent Application No. 2014-212657 filed Oct. 17, 2014. The entirecontents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a control device, a control method,and a flight vehicle device.

BACKGROUND ART

A technology relating to a method for capturing photographs using acamera installed in a radio-controllable flight vehicle has beendisclosed (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1). Using the camerainstalled in such a flight vehicle, it is possible to capturephotographs from the sky or a position in which a tripod is difficult toset. Capturing using a camera installed in a flight vehicle bringsvarious advantages in that costs can be suppressed, and safe capturing,capturing at a low altitude or in a narrow place, capturing in proximityto a target, and the like are possible in comparison to when a realaircraft or helicopter is used.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2006-27448A

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

It is considered that, if such a flight vehicle equipped with a cameraenables human beings to effectively capture a situation of a place towhich access is not easy for them, it will be very helpful forinspecting structures to which an approach is difficult for humanbeings. For example, using flight vehicles to inspect socialinfrastructures such as bridges, tunnels, dams, and roads built acrossrivers or seas, industrial infrastructures such as airports, buildings,warehouses, factories, and plants can be considered.

Here, images used to inspect structures as described above are requiredto have precision sufficient for detecting defects having a prescribedsize such as cracks. As a method of photographing images having highprecision without using a tower wagon, or the like, for example,photographing with a camera fixed to a tripod using a high-magnificationzoom lens is considered. This method, however, has a limitation in thephotographable range of a camera. On the other hand, if a flight vehiclewith a camera mounted thereon is used, it can approach and photographtargets. However, since flight vehicles have difficulty in completelystanding still due to wind and the like, and are influenced by vibrationresulting from rotation of propellers and the like, it is difficult toobtain images having high precision sufficient for ascertaining exactdamage of structures.

Therefore, a novel and improved control device, control method, andflight vehicle device which enable highly precise images to be obtainedare proposed.

Solution to Problem

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a control deviceincluding: an illuminating control unit configured to adjust a lightamount of an illuminating device according to an inclination of a bodyof a flight vehicle device that has an imaging device configured tophotograph a photographing target and the illuminating device configuredto illuminate the photographing target.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, there is provided acontrol method including: acquiring an inclination of a body of a flightvehicle device with respect to a photographing target, the flightvehicle device including an imaging device configured to photograph thephotographing target, and an illuminating device configured toilluminate the photographing target; and adjusting a light amount of theilluminating device according to the inclination of the body.

In addition, according to the present disclosure, there is provided aflight vehicle device including: an imaging device configured tophotograph a photographing target; an illuminating device configured toilluminate the photographing target; and a control unit configured toadjust a light amount of the illuminating device according to aninclination of a body with respect to the photographing target.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure described above, highly preciseimage can be obtained in photographing using a flight vehicle device.Note that the effects described above are not necessarily limitative.With or in the place of the above effects, there may be achieved any oneof the effects described in this specification or other effects that maybe grasped from this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for describing an overview ofphotographing of a structure using a hovering camera according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an exemplary systemconfiguration of an inspection system according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an exemplary functionalconfiguration of the hovering camera according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an exemplary functionalconfiguration of a control terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary operation of theinspection system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a function block diagram illustrating an example of functionsfor acquiring highly precise images of a control unit of the hoveringcamera according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aphotographing range of an imaging device of the hovering cameraaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an exemplary dispositionof light sources constituting an illuminating device according to theembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another exemplarydisposition of the light sources constituting the illuminating deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating exemplary characteristicsof the light sources constituting the illuminating device.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which theilluminating device is inclined by an angle θ with respect to anilluminated surface.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating changes in illuminance ofthe surface illuminated by the illuminating device when the hoveringcamera is in the state of FIG. 11 .

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of exemplary control of the imaging device andthe illuminating device at the time of photographing of the hoveringcamera according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for describing an example of shutter control ofthe imaging device.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating situations of change inspeed and acceleration of the hovering camera at the time ofphotographing work based on flight information.

FIG. 16 is a schematic front diagram of a lower frame part of thehovering camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective diagram illustrating a first drivingunit and a second driving unit that drive a lens of the imaging devicefrom a plane side.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. In thisspecification and the appended drawings, structural elements that havesubstantially the same function and structure are denoted with the samereference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structuralelements is omitted.

Note that description will be provided in the following order.

1. Overview

2. Exemplary system configuration

3. Exemplary functional configuration

-   -   3.1. Hovering camera    -   3.2. Control terminal

4. Exemplary operation of inspection system

5. Application to acquisition of highly precise images

-   -   5.1. Functional configuration    -   5.2. Light modulation control of illuminating device        -   (1) Photographing conditions        -   (2) Configuration of illuminating device        -   (3) Light amount control of illuminating device according to            inclination of body    -   5.3. Exemplary control of imaging device and illuminating device        at time of photographing        -   5.4. Lens inclination control of imaging device

6. Conclusion

<1. Overview>

Before a configuration of a flight vehicle device and a photographingmethod of a structure according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, first, an overview of photographing of a structure using aflight vehicle device (hovering camera) 100 equipped with an imagingdevice according to the present embodiment will be described based onFIG. 1 . Note that FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for describing theoverview of photographing of a structure using the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment.

Checking states of structures by humans is indispensable in operationand maintenance of the structures such as roads, bridges, tunnels, andbuildings. Typically, for visual checking of such a structure, commonly,a worker approaches a structure, and visually checks whether or notdamage such as corrosion or a crack or looseness of a coupling membersuch as a bolt has occurred in the structure or performs a hammeringtest to check the presence or absence of such abnormalities.

For operation and maintenance of a bridge, particularly, a concretebridge, for example, it is necessary to set up a scaffold at a back sideportion of a bridge pier or a bridge girder for a worker who performs avisual inspection and a hammering test of a bridge girder or a bridgepier, or it is necessary to close some lanes or all lanes in order tosecure safety of workers or place a work vehicle. For this reason, acost necessary for an inspection, a cost necessary for a placement of aroad guide person due to road closing, and a traffic jam of a detouroccurring by road closing can be problematic.

Further, for example, when built above a river or a sea, there is abridge at which it is not easy to set up a scaffold or it is difficultto set up a scaffold. Thus, in view of such circumstances, a techniquecapable of implementing an inspection of a structure at a low cost withhigh safety without influencing traffic is desirable.

Thus, the disclosers of the present application have reviewed atechnique capable of implementing an inspection of a structure at a lowcost with high safety without influencing traffic in view of suchcircumstances. Further, the disclosers of the present application haveended up with a proposal of a technique capable of implementing aninspection at a low cost with high safety without influencing trafficusing a flight vehicle equipped with an imaging device (hereinafter, theflight vehicle equipped with the imaging device is also referred to as a“hovering camera”) which will be described below.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a bridge 1 constructed of concrete.When the bridge 1 constructed of concrete is inspected, a workervisually inspects whether or not damage such as a crack or corrosion hasoccurred in a related art. In order for a worker to visually inspect, itis necessary to set up a scaffold at a back side portion of a bridgepier 2 or a bridge girder 3 or it is necessary to close some lanes orall lanes in order to secure safety of a worker or place a work vehicle.

Regarding such a visual inspection, in the present embodiment, thehovering camera 100 is used to inspect the bridge 1. The hovering camera100 is a flying body equipped with an imaging device which is configuredto perform an automatic flight according to flight information(including a flight path and information of an imaging position of astill image in the present embodiment) which is set in advance. Examplesof the information of the imaging position of the still image include aposition at which an imaging process is executed, an imaging direction,and a traveling time to a position at which a next imaging process isexecuted.

For example, when a back side (a bottom surface) of the bridge girder 3is inspected, the hovering camera 100 is operated to perform anautomatic flight to capture the back side of the bridge girder 3. Bycausing the hovering camera 100 to capture the back side of the bridgegirder 3, it is unnecessary to set up a scaffold at the back sideportion of the bridge pier 2 or the bridge girder 3 for an inspection ofthe bridge girder 3, the frequency of lane closing is reduced or it isunnecessary to perform lane closing. Further, for example, when the side(side surface) of the bridge girder 3 is inspected, the hovering camera100 is operated to perform an automatic flight to capture the side ofthe bridge girder 3. Thus, by causing the hovering camera 100 to performan automatic flight and causing the hovering camera 100 to capture theback side or the side of the bridge girder 3, it is possible to inspectthe bridge 1 at a low cost while securing the safety of a worker withoutinfluencing traffic.

At that time, images photographed by the hovering camera 100 arerequired to have precision sufficient for checking for fine cracks andthe like. In the hovering camera 100 according to the presentembodiment, the flight vehicle includes an illuminating mechanism whichilluminates a photographing surface of a photographing target, and theilluminance of the photographing surface is set to be substantiallyconstant. By illuminating a target illumination position (i.e., aphotographing place) with a certain level or higher of uniformilluminance, the quality of image photographing is maintained. Aconfiguration of the hovering camera 100 according to the presentembodiment and a photographing method of a structure using the camerawill be described in detail below.

<2. Exemplary System Configuration>

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an exemplary systemconfiguration of an inspection system 10 according to the embodiment.The inspection system 10 according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG.2 is a system that is configured to efficiently inspect a structure, forexample, the bridge 1. An exemplary system configuration of theinspection system 10 according to the embodiment will be described belowwith reference to FIG. 2 .

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the inspection system 10 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure includes the hovering camera 100, acontrol terminal 200, an information processing device 300, a wirelessrelay node 400, a position estimation node 500, a base station 600, acharging station 700, and a server device 800.

The hovering camera 100 is an exemplary imaging device of the presentdisclosure and serves as the flight vehicle equipped with the imagingdevice described above. The hovering camera 100 is a flight vehicleconfigured to be able to perform an automatic flight based on adesignated flight path and capture a still image at a designated imagingposition through the imaging device. The hovering camera 100 can fly,for example, through four rotors and fly while moving upward, downward,or forward by controlling the rotation of each rotor. Of course, thenumber of rotors is not limited to the relevant example.

A flight path from a flight start position to a flight end position andthe imaging position set for the hovering camera 100 are set as positioninformation of a Global Positioning System (GPS), for example. Thus, aGPS receiver that receives radio waves from GPS satellites andcalculates a current position may be incorporated into the hoveringcamera 100. The flight path set for the hovering camera 100 may be setusing all of a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude as GPS positioninformation or may be set using only a latitude and a longitude as theGPS position information, and, for example, a relative height from thebase station 600 which will be described below may be set as analtitude.

The control terminal 200 is an exemplary control device of the presentdisclosure and serves as a terminal that executes control related to aflight of the hovering camera 100. As the control related to the flightof the hovering camera 100, for example, the control terminal 200generates flight information to be transmitted to the hovering camera100, gives a takeoff instruction to the hovering camera 100, gives areturn instruction to the base station 600 which will be describedbelow. Further, the control terminal 200 may fly the hovering camera 100when the hovering camera 100 does not fly automatically due to a certainreason. A generation process of the flight information of the hoveringcamera 100 by the control terminal 200 will be described in detail belowbut will be described briefly here.

When the flight information of the hovering camera 100 is generated, thecontrol terminal 200 reads the information related to the overview ofthe bridge 1 to be inspected, for example, an overview diagram of thebridge 1 to be inspected, and causes the read information to bedisplayed on a screen. Points on the overview diagram of the bridge 1are associated with points on map data including more detailed GPSinformation. The associating is preferably performed by at least twosets of points. The overview diagram of the bridge 1 is associated withpoints on the map data including detailed GPS information in advance,and thus the flight path of the hovering camera 100 is defined as GPSvalues. Then, the control terminal 200 generates the flight path of thehovering camera 100 based on the overview diagram of the bridge 1. Theflight path of the hovering camera 100 is displayed on the overviewdiagram in a superimposed manner so that it is easily understood by theuser (structure inspection worker).

The control terminal 200 may consider a structure or dimension of thebridge 1 or a portion of the bridge 1 to be captured by the hoveringcamera 100 when generating the flight information of the hovering camera100. The control terminal 200 may generate the flight information forcausing the hovering camera 100 to capture a portion, in detail,considered likely to be damaged when generating the flight informationof the hovering camera 100.

As described above, the flight path set to the hovering camera 100 maybe set using all of a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude as the GPSposition information, but a case in which no altitude data is includedin the overview diagram of the bridge 1 is considered. When no altitudedata is included in the overview diagram of the bridge 1, the flightpath set to the hovering camera 100 is set using only a latitude and alongitude as the GPS position information, and, for example, a relativeheight from the base station 600 may be set as an altitude.

When the flight information is set for the hovering camera 100, thecontrol terminal 200 preferably generates the flight information so thata distance to an imaging target surface becomes constant when thehovering camera 100 captures the bridge 1. Since the flight informationis generated so that the distance to the imaging target surface becomesconstant when the hovering camera 100 captures the bridge 1, the controlterminal 200 can cause the hovering camera 100 to generate images havingthe same scale.

The control terminal 200 is a portable device such as a laptop computeror a tablet terminal, and performs wireless transmission and receptionof information to/from the hovering camera 100. The control terminal 200may perform wireless communication with the hovering camera 100 directlywith the hovering camera 100. Note that there may be cases in which thehovering camera 100 flies beyond a communication range of the controlterminal 200 in an inspection of a structure, particularly, the bridge1. Therefore, the control terminal 200 may perform wirelesscommunication with the hovering camera 100 through the wireless relaynode 400 installed at the time of inspection.

The control terminal 200 acquires an image captured by the imagingdevice while the hovering camera 100 is flying, and displays theacquired image on the display of the control terminal 200 as necessary.The control terminal 200 may acquire a moving image captured by theimaging device in a streaming manner while the hovering camera 100 isflying and display the acquired moving image on the display. Since themoving image captured by the imaging device is acquired in the streamingmanner while the hovering camera 100 is flying and displayed on thedisplay, the control terminal 200 can present a position at which thehovering camera 100 is flying to the user.

The information processing device 300 is a device that processes avariety of information and may be, for example, a device having afunction of processing information such as a personal computer (PC), agame machine, or the like. In the present embodiment, the informationprocessing device 300 is a device having a function of displaying,particularly, an image captured by the hovering camera 100 on thedisplay of the information processing device 300 and enables the user tocheck the state of the bridge 1. The information processing device 300has a function of calculating an absolute position of damage of thebridge girder 3 from the image captured by the hovering camera 100 andgenerating damage data which will be described below. The informationprocessing device 300 may have a function of transmitting the generateddamage data to the server device 800. Further, the control terminal 200may have the function of calculating an absolute position of damage ofthe bridge girder 3 from the image captured by the hovering camera 100and generating damage data which will be described below.

The information processing device 300 acquires the image captured by thehovering camera 100, for example, from the control terminal 200. Thetime for acquiring of the image captured by the hovering camera 100 bythe information processing device 300 is not limited, and, for example,the information processing device 300 may acquire the image captured bythe hovering camera 100 from the control terminal 200 at a time at whichone flight of the hovering camera 100 ends.

The wireless relay node 400 is a device that relays wirelesscommunication between the hovering camera 100 and the control terminal200. As described above, the hovering camera 100 may fly beyond thecommunication range of the control terminal 200 at the time ofinspection of a structure, particularly, the bridge 1. Thus, wirelesscommunication between the hovering camera 100 and the control terminal200 can be performed through the wireless relay node 400 installed atthe time of inspection of a structure. The number of wireless relaynodes 400 is not limited to 1, and a plurality of wireless relay nodes400 may be installed depending on an inspection range of the bridge 1.Thus, wireless communication between the hovering camera 100 and thecontrol terminal 200 may be performed through a plurality of wirelessrelay nodes 400. The hovering camera 100 can switch a communicationdestination between the control terminal 200 and the wireless relay node400 according to a situation of the radio waves.

The wireless relay node 400 may be installed at an appropriate positionon a bridge face (preferably, on a sidewalk) at the time of inspectionof the bridge 1. The wireless relay node 400 may be installed so as tobe suspended from a parapet of the bridge girder 3. Further, before theinspection of the bridge 1, it is desirable to check whether or not thewireless relay node 400 operates normally, for example, using thecontrol terminal 200 by a certain method.

The position estimation node 500 is a device that causes the hoveringcamera 100 to estimate a current position. As described above, theflight path of the hovering camera 100 is set, for example, using theGPS position information. At this time, when the radio waves from theGPS satellites are not blocked, the hovering camera 100 can detect thecurrent position with a high degree of accuracy. However, it is notavoidable that the hovering camera 100 flies under the bridge girder 3,if the radio waves from the GPS satellites are blocked by the bridgegirder 3 or a multipath occurs due to reflection of the radio waves bythe bridge 1, for example, the hovering camera 100 is unlikely to detectthe current position with a high degree of accuracy.

In this regard, in the present embodiment, the position estimation node500 is installed under the bridge girder 3 in order to enable thehovering camera 100 to acquire the current position accurately. Forexample, an augmented reality (AR) marker or a GPS signal transmittermay be used as the position estimation node 500.

When the AR marker is used as the position estimation node 500, in orderto enable the hovering camera 100 to recognize the current position, forexample, position estimation nodes 500 are suspended from both ends ofthe bridge 1, and the hovering camera 100 is caused to capture theposition estimation node 500. Further, the hovering camera 100 that hascaptured the position estimation node 500 is caused to fly between thedesignated position estimation nodes 500. The hovering camera 100 candetect the position between the position estimation nodes 500, forexample, based on an integration value of a sensor (for example, aninertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor) installed in the hovering camera100 and a distance to the position estimation node 500 of the movementdestination calculated from the captured image. Thus, the hoveringcamera 100 captures the position estimation node 500 and thus canacquire the current position even under the bridge girder 3 accurately.

Further, when the GPS signal transmitter is used as the positionestimation node 500, in order to enable the hovering camera 100 torecognize the current position, for example, position estimation nodes500 are installed at opposing corners or four corners of the bridge 10.The hovering camera 100 receives the GPS signal transmitted from theposition estimation nodes 500 and thus can acquire the current positionaccurately even under the bridge girder 3.

The base station 600 is a device installed for takeoff and landing ofthe hovering camera 100. The base station 600 includes a GPS receiver,and receives the radio waves from the GPS satellites and calculates thecurrent position. The current position calculated by the base station600 is transmitted to the control terminal 200. Since the currentposition calculated by the base station 600 is transmitted to thecontrol terminal 200, the control terminal 200 can cause the position ofthe base station 600 to be displayed on the overview diagram of thebridge 1.

The base station 600 may have a function of checking an operation of thehovering camera 100. Examples of the operation check of the hoveringcamera 100 performed by the base station 600 include a communicationfunction check, an imaging function check, a flight function check, andcalibration of various types of sensors. Further, the calibration methodof the sensors of the hovering camera 100 is not limited to the methodof using the base station 600. For example, as the calibration method ofthe sensors of the hovering camera. 100, a method of fixing the hoveringcamera 100 in a dedicated calibration and correcting the sensors byrotating the hovering camera 100 in a pitch direction or a rolldirection may be used.

The charging station 700 electrically charges a secondary batteryinstalled in the hovering camera 100. The hovering camera 100 uses abattery as a power source, and expends electrical power accumulated inthe battery during the flight or the capturing. When the batteryinstalled in the hovering camera 100 is the secondary battery, thecharging station 700 can restore electric power expended by the hoveringcamera 100 by charging the battery. The charging station 700 may chargethe hovering camera 100 by connecting a cable or the like to thehovering camera 100 and supplying electric power to the hovering camera100. Alternatively, the charging station 700 may charge the hoveringcamera 100 by supplying electric power to the hovering camera 100 by anon-contact power transmission scheme.

The server device 800 is a device that stores various types of data. Inthe present embodiment, the server device 800 may store damage datagenerated by the information processing device 300.

The inspection system 10 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure has the configuration illustrated in FIG. 2 and can cause thehovering camera 100 to capture the bridge 1 and acquire the image of thebridge 1. Since the hovering camera 100 is caused to capture the bridge1, it is unnecessary to set up a scaffold at a bridge pier or a bridgegirder, the frequency in which some lanes or all lanes are closed inorder to secure safety of a worker is reduced, and it is unnecessary toclose lanes. Thus, the inspection system 10 according to the embodimentof the present disclosure makes the inspection of the bridge 1 to beefficiently performed at a low cost.

An exemplary system configuration of the inspection system 10 accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above.Next, exemplary functional configurations of the hovering camera 100 andthe control terminal 200 configuring the inspection system 10 accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

<3. Exemplary Functional Configuration>

[3.1. Hovering Camera]

An exemplary functional configuration of the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment will be described based on FIG. 3 .FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the exemplary functionalconfiguration of the hovering camera 100 according to the presentembodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the hovering camera 100 according to thepresent embodiment is configured to include an imaging device 101, anilluminating device 105, rotors 104 a to 104 d, motors 108 a to 108 d, acontrol unit 110, a communication unit 120, a sensor unit 130, aposition information acquisition unit 132, a storage unit 140, and abattery 150.

The control unit 110 controls operations of the hovering camera 100. Forexample, the control unit 110 performs adjustment of rotational speedsof the rotors 104 a to 104 d through adjustment of rotational speed ofthe motors 108 a to 108 d, an imaging process using the imaging device101, control of illumination of the illuminating device 105, and thelike. In addition, the control unit 110 can control processes fortransmission and reception of information to and from another device(for example, the control terminal 200) via the communication unit 120,and recording and reading of information on and from the storage unit140. The control unit 110 includes a processor such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or a processing circuit, and as the processor orthe processing circuit performs programs and processes of various kinds,functions of various functional parts of the control unit 110 arerealized. Furthermore, the control unit 110 may include a memory or astorage device which temporarily or permanently stores a programexecuted by the processor or the processing circuit and data read andwritten in processes.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 110 controls a flight inwhich the rotational speed of the motors 108 a to 108 d is adjusted andexecution of the imaging process of the still image by the imagingdevice 101 based on the flight information transmitted from the controlterminal 200. The control unit 110 controls the motors 108 a to 108 d orthe imaging device 101 based on the flight information transmitted fromthe control terminal 200 and thus can provide an image to the controlterminal 200 based on a request of the control terminal 200.

The imaging device 101 is configured with a lens, an image sensor suchas a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and the like. The imagingdevice 101 installed in the body of the hovering camera 100 captures astill image or a moving image according to control from the controlterminal 200. The image captured by the imaging device 101 istransmitted from the communication unit 120 to the control terminal 200.In the present embodiment, the imaging device 101 performs the imagingprocess based on the information of the imaging position of the stillimage included in the flight information transmitted from the controlterminal 200. The image obtained by the imaging process of the imagingdevice 101 is recorded in the storage unit 140 or transmitted from thecommunication unit 120 to the control terminal 200. When the hoveringcamera 100 images the bottom surface side of the bridge 1, insufficientbrightness due to the bridge 1 blocking sunlight is conceivable, and forthat reason, the hovering camera 100 according to the present embodimenthas the illuminating device 105 for making an illuminance in aphotographing range uniform during imaging as will be described below.

The imaging device 101 can change the imaging direction, for example, toan arbitrary direction by the control from the control unit 110. Forexample, when the horizontal direction of the hovering camera is assumedto be 0°, the capturing can be performed in an imaging directionindicated by a range of ±90° vertically. As the imaging device 101changes the imaging direction, the hovering camera 100 can capture animage in a certain direction and provides a captured image to thecontrol terminal 200. Then, the control unit 110 associates positioninformation of the hovering camera 100 when the imaging device 101captures a still image, body information at the time of capturing (i.e.,information on the hovering camera 100 at the time of capturing), andinformation of the imaging direction as metadata of the still image.

Note that position information of the hovering camera 100 can alsoinclude position information based on positioning by the GPS, andpositioning using the position estimation nodes 500. Body information atthe time of imaging includes information of for example, an inclinationof the body of the hovering camera 100 with reference to a referenceplane (for example, a yaw angle, a pitch angle, and a roll angle), aninclination of the body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to aphotographing target, acceleration, an angular velocity, and the like.The reference plane referred to here is, for example, a horizontal planewith respect to the ground. An inclination of the body of the hoveringcamera 100 with respect to a photographing target refers to, forexample, an angle formed between the photographing target such as thebottom surface or a side surface of a bridge and the body of thehovering camera 100. As a method of storing the associated metadata, themetadata may be added to an additional information region (for example,a specific region of an Exif format) of still image data, or themetadata may be recorded in an image file, a separate file, or the likeas separate data.

The rotors 104 a to 104 d cause the hovering camera 100 to fly bygenerating a lift force from rotation thereof. Rotation of the rotors104 a to 104 d is caused by rotation of the motors 108 a to 108 d. Themotors 108 a to 108 d cause the rotors 104 a to 104 d to rotate. Therotation of the motors 108 a to 108 d can be controlled by the controlunit 110.

The illuminating device 105 is a mechanism for making an illuminance ofa photographing range of the imaging device 101 of the hovering camera100 uniform. The illuminating device 105 is configured to include, forexample, a plurality of light sources. As the light sources, forexample, LED light sources may be used. Note that a detailedconfiguration of the illuminating device 105 will be described below. Inthe present embodiment, the control unit 110 controls a light amount ofthe light sources constituting the illuminating device 105 according toan attitude (an inclination) of the hovering camera. 100 with respect toa photographing surface of the photographing target. Accordingly, theilluminance of the photographing range of the imaging device 101 can beset to be uniform, and thus precision of images photographed by theimaging device 101 can be improved.

Note that a process of the control unit 110 according to the presentembodiment to improve precision of images acquired by the imaging device101 will be described below in detail.

The communication unit 120 performs transmission and reception processesof information to/from the control terminal 200 through wirelesscommunication. The hovering camera 100 transmits images captured by theimaging device 101 from the communication unit 120 to the controlterminal 200. In addition, the hovering camera 100 receives instructionsrelating to flight from the control terminal 200 using the communicationunit 120.

The sensor unit 130 is a group of devices that acquire states of thehovering camera 100, and may include, for example, an accelerationsensor, a gyro sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a barometric sensor, anoptical flow sensor, a laser range finder that measures the distance tothe target, and the like. The sensor unit 130 can convert an acquiredstate of the hovering camera 100 into a predetermined signal, andprovide the signal to the control unit 110 when necessary.

The control unit 110 may generate information about an inclination ofthe body with respect to the reference plane (for example, a yaw angle,a pitch angle, and a roll angle) from, for example, accelerationinformation of the acceleration sensor and angular velocity informationof the gyro sensor provided from the sensor unit 130. In addition, thecontrol unit 110 can acquire a distance from the hovering camera 100 tothe photographing target based on sensing information of the laser rangefinder of the sensor unit 130. A plurality of laser range finders can beprovided in the body of the hovering camera 100 at predeterminedintervals. In this case, the control unit 110 can acquire information ofan inclination of the body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to asurface of the photographing target as well as information of aninclination of the body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to thereference plane by performing calculation using sensing information fromthe plurality of laser range finders.

The position information acquisition unit 132 acquires information of acurrent position of the hovering camera 100 using, for example, the GPS,a vision sensor, or the like. The position information acquisition unit132 can provide the acquired information of the current position of thehovering camera 100 to the control unit 110 when necessary. The controlunit 110 executes control of the flight of the hovering camera 100 basedon the flight information received from the control terminal 200 usingthe information of the current position of the hovering camera 100acquired by the position information acquisition unit 132.

The sensor unit 130 detects an obstacle that may interfere with a flightat the time of the flight. As the sensor unit 130 detects an obstacle,the hovering camera 100 can provide information related to the detectedobstacle to the control terminal 200.

The storage unit 140 stores a variety of information. Examples of theinformation stored in the storage unit 140 include the flightinformation of the hovering camera 100 transmitted from the controlterminal 200 and an image captured by the imaging device 101.

The battery 150 accumulates electric power for operating the hoveringcamera 100. The battery 150 may be a primary battery in which onlydischarging is possible or may be a secondary battery in which chargingis also possible, but when the battery 150 is the secondary battery, forexample, the battery 150 can be supplied with electric power from thecharging station 700 illustrated in FIG. 2 .

The hovering camera 100 according to the present embodiment may have theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 3 and thus can perform an automaticflight based on the flight path included in the flight informationtransmitted from the control terminal 200 and execute the imagingprocess based on the information of the imaging position of the stillimage included in the flight information transmitted from the controlterminal 200.

An exemplary functional configuration of the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment has been described above using FIG.3 .

[3.2. Control Terminal]

Next, an exemplary functional configuration of the control terminal 200according to the present embodiment will be described based on FIG. 4 .FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the exemplary functionalconfiguration of the control terminal 200 according to the presentembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the control terminal 200according to the present embodiment is configured to include a displayunit 210, a communication unit 220, a control unit 230, and a storageunit 240. The control terminal 200 includes a processor such as a CPU ora processing circuit, and as the processor or the processing circuitperforms various programs and processes, functions of the display unit210, the communication unit 220, and the control unit 230 are realized.In addition, the control terminal 200 includes, as the storage unit 240,a memory or a storage device which temporarily or permanently stores aprogram executed by the processor or the processing circuit and dataread and written in processes.

The display unit 210 includes a flat display device, for example, aliquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, or thelike. The display unit 210 can display, for example, images captured bythe imaging device 101 or information for controlling operations of thehovering camera 100. The display unit 210 is provided with a touchpanel, and thus a user can perform a direct operation with respect tothe information displayed on the display unit 210 by touching thedisplay unit 210 with his or her finger, or the like.

The communication unit 220 transmits and receives information to/fromthe hovering camera 100 through wireless communication. The controlterminal 200 receives images captured by the imaging device 101 from thehovering camera 100 using the communication unit 220. In addition, thecontrol terminal 200 transmits instructions relating to the flight ofthe hovering camera 100 to the hovering camera 100 from thecommunication unit 220. Commands relating to the flight of the hoveringcamera 100 can be generated by the control unit 230.

The control unit 230 controls an operation of the control terminal 200.For example, the control unit 230 can control a process of displayingtext, figures, images, or other information on the display unit 210 andthe transmission and reception processes of information to/from otherdevices (for example, the hovering camera 100) through the communicationunit 220. The control unit 230 is configured to include a flightinformation generating unit 232 and a display control unit 234.

The flight information generating unit 232 generates the flightinformation to be transmitted to the hovering camera 100. At the time ofgeneration of the flight information, for example, the flightinformation generating unit 232 uses information related to a structureto be inspected stored in the storage unit 240 which will be describedbelow. When the flight information is generated, the flight informationgenerating unit 232 causes the generated flight information to betransmitted from the communication unit 220 before takeoff of thehovering camera 100.

Here, an example of the flight information generation process by theflight information generating unit 232 will be briefly described. Theflight information generating unit 232 reads the overview diagram of thebridge 1 to be inspected when generating the flight information of thehovering camera 100. The read overview diagram of the bridge 1 isdisplayed on the display unit 210 through the display control unit 234.As described above, points on the overview diagram of the bridge 1 areassociated with points on the map data including detailed GPSinformation in advance. The associating is preferably performed by atleast two sets of points. The overview diagram of the bridge 1 isassociated with points on the map data including detailed GPSinformation in advance, and thus the flight path of the hovering camera100 is defined using GPS values (a set of a latitude and a longitude).

Then, the flight information generating unit 232 generates the flightpath of the hovering camera 100 based on the overview diagram of thebridge 1. The flight information generating unit 232 uses informationrelated to a structure such as a construction method, a width, and aspan length of the bridge 1, an available flight period of time of thehovering camera 100, and information such as an inspection method of thebridge 1 when generating the flight path of the hovering camera 100.Concrete bridges are classified into reinforced concrete (RC) andprestressed concrete (PC) according to an reinforcement method and areclassified into, for example, a RCT girder bridge, a PCT girder bridge,a PC hollow slab bridge, a RC box-girder bridge, a PC box-girder bridge,and the like. Thus, when the construction method of the bridge 1 servingas an inspection target is known, the flight information generating unit232 can generate a flight path suitable for the construction method ofthe bridge 1. Then, the flight information generating unit 232 causesthe flight path of the hovering camera 100 to be displayed on theoverview diagram of the bridge 1 in a superimposed manner.

The flight information generating unit 232 defines the flight path ofthe hovering camera 100 using GPS values (a set of a latitude and alongitude) as described above. As the flight information generating unit232 defines the flight path of the hovering camera 100 using the GPSvalues, the hovering camera 100 can determine a position at which theimaging process is executed at the time of flight based on the GPSvalues.

The display control unit 234 controls the display of text, figures,images, and other information on the display unit 210. For example, whenthe flight information generating unit 232 generates the flightinformation to be transmitted to the hovering camera 100, the displaycontrol unit 234 executes control such that the overview diagram of thestructure (the bridge 1) to be inspected and the generated flightinformation are displayed on the display unit 210.

The storage unit 240 stores various types of information. Examples ofthe information stored in the storage unit 240 include informationrelated to the structure to be inspected (the bridge 1). Examples of theinformation related to the structure to be inspected include theoverview diagram of the structure (the bridge 1) to be inspected and theconstruction method of the structure to be inspected. Further, when alocation of the structure to be inspected which is considered likely tobe damaged is known in advance, the information related to the structureto be inspected may include information of a portion that is consideredlikely to be damaged.

Further, even when the information related to the structure (the bridge1) to be inspected is not stored in the storage unit 240 in advance, thecontrol terminal 200 may receive the information related to thestructure of the inspection target, for example, from the informationprocessing device 300 at the time of inspection of the structure.

The control terminal 200 according to the present embodiment has theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 4 and can generate the flightinformation to be transmitted to the hovering camera 100 based on theinformation related to the structure (the bridge 1) to be inspected.Then the control terminal 200 may acquire the image captured based onthe flight information by the hovering camera 100 that flies based onthe flight information.

An exemplary functional configuration of the control terminal 200according to the present embodiment has been described above.

<4. Exemplary Operation of Inspection System>

An exemplary operation of the inspection system 10 according to thepresent embodiment described above will be described based on FIG. 5 .FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the exemplary operation of theinspection system 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5illustrates the exemplary operation of the inspection system 10according to the present embodiment when the bridge 1 is inspected bycausing the hovering camera 100 to fly and the hovering camera 100 toimage the bridge 1. Note that it is assumed that, when the bridge 1 isto be inspected using the hovering camera 100, the wireless relay node400 and the position estimation nodes 500 are installed at suitablepositions on the bridge 1 in advance.

First, the control terminal 200 that generates the flight information ofthe hovering camera 100 reads information related to the bridge 1including the overview diagram of the bridge 1 of the inspection target,and causes the overview diagram of the bridge 1 to be displayed on thedisplay unit 210 (step S101). The reading of the information related tothe bridge 1 is executed, for example, by the flight informationgenerating unit 232, and the displaying of the overview diagram of thebridge 1 on the display unit 210 is executed, for example, by thedisplay control unit 234. The control terminal 200 in which the overviewdiagram of the bridge 1 is being displayed on the display unit 210enables the user to designate a region of the bridge 1 to be inspectedusing the overview diagram of the bridge 1 being displayed on thedisplay unit 210 (step S102). The process of enabling the user todesignate the region in step S102 is executed, for example, by theflight information generating unit 232.

For example, when a part of the bridge 1 is set as the inspectiontarget, the control terminal 200 enables the user to designate aninspection target region in the overview diagram of the bridge 1 beingdisplayed on the display unit 210. Further, for example, when the entirebridge 1 is set as the inspection target, the control terminal 200enables the user to designate all regions of the bridge 1 in theoverview diagram of the bridge 1 being displayed on the display unit210.

When the region of the bridge 1 to be inspected is designated by theuser, the control terminal 200 then generates the flight information ofthe hovering camera 100 for the region to be inspected designated by theuser based on the information related to the bridge 1 (step S103). Theflight information generation process in step S103 is executed, forexample, by the flight information generating unit 232.

The control terminal 200 uses information related to a structure such asa construction method, a width, and a span length of the bridge 1, anavailable flight period of time of the hovering camera 100, andinformation such as an inspection method of the bridge 1 when generatingthe flight information of the hovering camera 100 in step S103. Forexample, when a T girder is used in the construction method of thebridge 1, the control terminal 200 generates a flight path in which thehovering camera 100 repeats levitation and descending at the bottom sideof the bridge 1 as the flight information. Further, the control terminal200 may use information of an image target surface of the bridge 1 whengenerating the flight information of the hovering camera 100 in stepS103. For example, when the user selects capturing of the side of thebridge 1, the control terminal 200 generates a flight path along theside of the bridge 1 as the flight information, and when the userselects capturing of the bottom surface of the bridge 1, the controlterminal 200 generates a flight path in which it travels back and forthunder the bottom side of the bridge 1 as the flight information.

When the flight information of the hovering camera 100 is generated instep S103, the control terminal 200 then transmits the generated flightinformation to the hovering camera 100, and transmits a takeoffinstruction to the hovering camera 100 (step S104). The transmitting ofthe generated flight information and the transmitting of the takeoffinstruction are performed, for example, by the flight informationgenerating unit 232 through the communication unit 220.

The hovering camera 100 that has received the flight information and thetakeoff instruction from the control terminal 200 and then taken offfrom the base station 600 flied based on the flight informationtransmitted from the control terminal 200, performs the imaging process,and acquires a still image (step S105). The hovering camera 100 acquiresposition information when the imaging process of acquiring a still imageis executed or body information at the time of the imaging process, andassociates the acquired information with the still image. For example,information on the body at the time of the imaging process may include,for example, an inclination of the hovering camera 100 with respect tothe reference plane (for example, a yaw angle, a pitch angle, and a rollangle), acceleration, or an angular velocity. Further, the hoveringcamera 100 may transmit a moving image being captured by the imagingdevice 101 during flight to the control terminal 200 in a streamingmanner. As the control terminal 200 acquires and displays on the displaythe moving image being captured through the imaging device during flightby the hovering camera 100, the control terminal 200 can present aposition at which the hovering camera 100 is flying to the user.

Preferably, the hovering camera 100 maintains a constant distance fromthe image target surface (for example, the side surface or the bottomsurface of the bridge girder 3) at all the imaging points when executingthe imaging process. As the distance from the image target surface ismaintained constant at all the imaging points, the hovering camera 100can obtain still images captured with the same size.

When a portion considered likely to be damaged is included in the flightpath of the hovering camera 100, the hovering camera 100 may change theimaging direction of the imaging device, use infrared rays havingdifferent wavelengths, or change a shutter speed for the portion andthen capture a plurality of still images. Further, when a portionconsidered likely to be damaged is included in the flight path of thehovering camera 100, the hovering camera 100 may narrow an interval ofpositions at which the imaging process of the portion is performed so asto be smaller than that of other portions.

When the imaging process at the last imaging point is completed, thehovering camera 100 automatically flies to the base station 600 in orderto return to the base station 600 (step S106). Then, the controlterminal 200 acquires the image captured by the hovering camera 100 thathas returned to the base station 600 from the hovering camera 100 (stepS107). The acquiring of the image captured by the hovering camera 100may be performed after the hovering camera 100 returns to the basestation 600 as described above, but the control terminal 200 may acquirea still image sequentially each time the hovering camera 100 executesthe imaging process and acquires the still image.

An exemplary operation of the inspection system 10 according to thepresent embodiment has been described above. According to the inspectionsystem 10 according to the present embodiment, the control terminal 200generates the flight information to be transmitted to the hoveringcamera 100 and the hovering camera 100 can capture images based on theflight information.

<5. Application to Acquisition of Highly Precise Images>

By causing the hovering camera 100 to fly and the hovering camera 100 tocapture the bridge 1, a state of a place which is not easily accessibleto a worker, for example, the bottom surface of the bridge girder 3 canbe checked. Here, an image acquired by the imaging device 101 here isrequired to be a highly precise image with which a detection target suchas damage of a structure can be precisely detected. Thus, in order forthe hovering camera. 100 according to the present embodiment to acquirehighly precise images, the control unit 110 first performs illuminatingcontrol on the illuminating device 105 to make the illuminance of thephotographing range of the imaging device 101 substantially uniform.

In addition, there is a concern in photographing using the hoveringcamera 100 that the body may vibrate due to a disturbance of wind or thelike, or operations of the driving system of the body and thusphotographed images may appear blurry. Thus, in the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment, the control unit 110 performs aprocess of eliminating an influence of vibration on the imaging device101 and preventing captured images from being blurry. The process foracquiring a highly precise image with the hovering camera 100 accordingto the present embodiment will be described in detail below.

[5.1. Functional Configuration]

First, functions of the control unit 110 for acquiring highly preciseimages with the hovering camera 100 according to the present embodimentwill be described based on FIG. 6 . Note that FIG. 6 is a function blockdiagram illustrating an example of the functions for acquiring highlyprecise images of the control unit 110 of the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment. Note that, for the function ofacquiring highly precise images, the control unit of the hovering cameraaccording to the present disclosure may not necessarily have all thefunctions illustrated in FIG. 6 , and may have at least any onefunction.

The control unit 110 of the hovering camera 100 according to the presentembodiment has a photographing parameter setting section 111, adetection information acquisition section 113, an illuminating controlsection 115, a shutter control section 117, and an attitude controlsection 119 for the functions for acquiring highly precise images asillustrated in FIG. 6 . The functions of the photographing parametersetting section 111, the detection information acquisition section 113,the illuminating control section 115, the shutter control section 117,and the attitude control section 119 are realized by a processor such asa CPU or a processing circuit performing various programs and processes.

The photographing parameter setting section 111 sets photographingparameters of the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device 105.The photographing parameters include, for example, a shutter speed and aphotographing gain of the imaging device 101, a set illuminance of theilluminating device 105, and the like. The photographing parameters areset in advance in, for example, the storage unit 140 of the hoveringcamera 100. The photographing parameter setting section 111 acquiresphotographing parameters necessary for obtaining an image qualityrequired for a captured image from the storage unit 140 and outputs themto the illuminating control section 115, the shutter control section117, and the attitude control section 119 such that they are set for theimaging device 101 and the illuminating device 105.

The detection information acquisition section 113 acquires positioninformation of the body and body information at the time of imagingacquired by the sensor unit 130 and the position information acquisitionunit 132 of the hovering camera 100. The detection informationacquisition section 113 outputs the acquired various kinds ofinformation to the illuminating control section 115, the shutter controlsection 117, and the attitude control section 119.

The illuminating control section 115 modulates light such that theilluminance of the photographing range of the imaging device 101illuminated by the illuminating device 105 becomes substantiallyuniform. The illuminating control section 115 controls the illuminatingdevice 105 such that the illuminating device is turned on and off basedon the position information of the body and the body information at thetime of imaging of the hovering camera 100 acquired by the detectioninformation acquisition section 113. In addition, the illuminatingcontrol section 115 controls a light amount of the light sourcesconstituting the illuminating device 105 according to an inclination ofthe body included in the body information to attain the set illuminanceinput from the photographing parameter setting section 111.

The shutter control section 117 controls driving of the shutter of theimaging device 101. The shutter control section 117 causes the shutterto be driven based on, for example, a shutter speed input from thephotographing parameter setting section 111. In addition, the shuttercontrol section 117 controls timings at which the shutter is caused tobe driven based on the position information of the body, the bodyinformation at the time of imaging of the hovering camera 100, and thelike acquired by the detection information acquisition section 113.

The attitude control section 119 controls inclinations of the lens ofthe imaging device 101. Accordingly, the attitude control section 119can control the imaging device 100 such that a photographing directionis oriented to an imaging range according to an attitude of the hoveringcamera 100. For example, when the body of the hovering camera 100 isinclined with respect to a photographing plane because it is influencedby a disturbance like wind, the attitude control section 119 controls adriving mechanism for adjusting inclinations of the lens of the imagingdevice 101 such that the photographing direction is substantiallyvertical with respect to the photographing plane.

The respective functional sections of the control unit 110 control atleast one of the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device 105 asdescribed above so that highly precise images can be acquired. Controlprocesses of the respective functional sections will be described below

[5.2. Light Modulation Control of Illuminating Device]

First, light modulation control of the illuminating device 105 accordingto the present embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 7 to 12 .Note that FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of aphotographing range of the imaging device 101 of the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagramillustrating an exemplary disposition of light sources 106 constitutingthe illuminating device 105 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9is an explanatory diagram illustrating another exemplary disposition ofthe light sources 106 constituting the illuminating device 105 accordingto the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagramillustrating exemplary characteristics of the light sources constitutingthe illuminating device 105. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagramillustrating a state in which the illuminating device 105 is inclined byan angle θ with respect to an illuminated surface. FIG. 12 is anexplanatory diagram illustrating changes in illuminance of the surfaceilluminated by the illuminating device 105 when the hovering camera 100is in the state of FIG. 11 .

(1) Photographing Conditions

It is required to acquire an image having a certain level of precisionin order to photograph a structure with the hovering camera 100according to the present embodiment and detect damage of the structure.For example, a case in which a back face 3 a of the bridge girder 3 isphotographed to detect a crack having a certain degree of size orgreater generated on the back face 3 a is considered as illustrated inFIG. 7 . A certain level of resolution applicable to pixels of aphotographed image is necessary for detecting cracks having a certaindegree of size or greater.

It may be assumed that, for example, a crack having a width of 0.2 mm orgreater is detected using the imaging device 101 having about 4000pixels (13M pixels) horizontally and 90° as an angle of view. In thiscase, by photographing a photographing range S with an area of 4 m²(L₁=L₂=2 m) at a distance d from the imaging device 101 to the back face3 a of the bridge girder 3 serving as the photographing plane, which is1 m, an image having the required resolution can be acquired.

On the other hand, it is required that a photographing target is clearlyprojected with no blurring in an image to be used to detect damage of astructure. Thus, when an image having the above-described resolution isto be acquired, an exposure time in which no blurring is caused in theimage (i.e., a shutter speed), a gain for obtaining a clear image (i.e.,ISO sensitivity), and a necessary illuminance of the photographing planein photographing are acquired in advance as photographing parameters.

Here, the exposure time is set to a value at which an influence ofvibration of the body of the hovering camera 100 can be eliminated. Innormal photographing in which a person photographs an image using adigital still camera, a vibration frequency of hand-shake of aphotographer is about 10 Hz. On the other hand, a vibration frequency ofthe body of the hovering camera 100 has a plurality of peaks accordingto the rotational speed of the propeller that rotates at severalhundreds Hz. For this reason, it is not possible to remove blurring ofan image caused by vibration of the body with a general hand-shakecorrection function incorporated into a lens module of the imagingdevice 101. Thus, it is desirable to set the exposure time according tothe body of the hovering camera 100.

The photographing parameters may be set based on real measurementresults using a real machine for the hovering camera 100, or may be setbased on results obtained from a simulation based on a model simulatingthe real machine. The photographing parameters are stored in, forexample, the storage unit 140.

When, for example, the photographing range S of 4 m² is photographedwith the distance from the imaging device 101 to the photographing planeset to 1 m, the exposure time is set to 1/250 [sec], the gain to ISO200, and an illuminance at the time of photographing to 1000 [lux] forthe photographing parameters. Note that these values of thephotographing parameters are merely examples, and the photographingparameters are set according to photographing conditions, the stabilityof the body of the hovering camera 100, and the like. If the stabilityof the body of the hovering camera 100 increases, for example, theexposure time can be set to be longer, and the illuminance at the timeof photographing can be lowered.

The control unit 110 controls the imaging device 101 and theilluminating device 105 such that photographing is performed accordingto the photographing parameters set by the photographing parametersetting section 111.

(2) Configuration of Illuminating Device

Next, a configuration of the illuminating device 105 mounted in thehovering camera 100 according to the present embodiment will bedescribed based on FIGS. 8 to 10 . The illuminating device 105 of thehovering camera 100 according to the present embodiment is a device thatilluminates the photographing range S, and is used to realize anilluminance set as a photographing parameter in the photographing rangeS even in an environment in which a sufficient illuminance is notobtained due to sunlight.

The illuminating device 105 may be configured by disposing the pluralityof light sources 106 on the body surface of the hovering camera 100. Asthe light sources 106, for example, LED light sources can be used. SinceLED light sources have directionality, reliable illumination is possiblein a light emission direction. In addition, the respective light sources106 may be disposed to have a substantially uniform illuminancedistribution in the photographing range S. It is preferable to set theilluminance distribution in the photographing range to be higher than anecessary illuminance at all points within the photographing range S.

The illuminating device 105 may be configured such that the lightsources 106 are disposed at the center, four corners, and the centerportions of respective sides of a body flat surface 100 a of thehovering camera 100 having a substantial square shape, as illustrated inFIG. 8 , for example. Furthermore, the light sources 106 may also bedisposed on a body side surface 100 b of the hovering camera. Note thatthe light sources 106 can also be installed at any position on bodysurfaces of the hovering camera 100, and may be provided on the bodybottom surface, in addition to the body flat surface 100 a and the bodyside surface 100 b. In addition, the light sources 106 may be providedon a surface facing a photographing target in a two-dimensional arrayshape as illustrated in FIG. 8 .

At this time, the illuminance distribution in the photographing range Scan be made substantially uniform by appropriately setting an emissiondirection of the light sources 106 according to an installation positionof the light sources 106. For example, a light emission direction of thelight sources 106 provided at the center among the light sources 106disposed on the body flat surface 100 a may be substantially verticalwith respect to the body flat surface 100 a as illustrated in FIG. 8 .On the other hand, a light emission direction of the light sources 106provided around the body flat surface 100 a may be set to be inclinedfrom the direction vertical with respect to the body flat surface 100 atoward outside of the body.

In addition, as another exemplary configuration of the illuminatingdevice 105, for example, the illuminating device 105 may be configuredby disposing the light sources 106 on diagonal lines of the body flatsurface 100 a of the hovering camera 100 having a substantially squareshape, as illustrated in FIG. 9 . Also in this case, directionality ofeach of the light sources 106 may be appropriately changed to make theilluminance distribution be substantially uniform in the photographingrange S, similar to the illuminating device 105 of FIG. 8 .

Here, as a method of setting the illuminance distribution of theilluminating device 105 in the photographing range S to be substantiallyuniform, for example, a lens (not illustrated) that is an optical memberwhich adjusts a directionality of the light sources 106 may be providedfor the light sources 106, in addition to adjusting a light emissiondirection of the light sources 106. For example, FIG. 10 illustrates anexample of a difference in directionality and illuminance of the lightsources 106 when a lens that can reduce a directional angle and increaseilluminance is provided in a light emission direction of the lightsources 106 and the light sources 106 without the lens. As illustratedin FIG. 10 , while the light sources 106 without the lens havedirectionality but do not have a high peak in their illuminance, thelight sources 106 using the lens exhibit a significant peak in theirilluminance and thus can radiate intense light to a specific portion.

By changing the directionality of the light sources 106 and increasingilluminance of radiated light using the lens as described above, theilluminance distribution in the photographing range S can be madesubstantially uniform. Particularly, with regard to the hovering camera100 according to the present embodiment, a light amount of theilluminating device 105 is adjusted according to an inclination of thebody, and thus the illuminance distribution in the photographing range Sis made substantially uniform as will be described below.

Specifically, by providing a lens that changes directionality andincreasing illuminance of radiated light in at least some of the lightsources 106 constituting the illuminating device 105 of the hoveringcamera 100, the illuminance distribution in the photographing range Scan be more precisely made substantially uniform. For example, in theexample of the illuminating device 105 illustrated in FIG. 9 , a lensfor changing directionality and increasing illuminance of radiated lightmay be provided in the light sources 106 disposed in regions A1 to A4close to the four corners among the light sources 106 disposed on thediagonal lines of the body flat surface 100 a. In addition, no lens maybe provided for the light sources 106 disposed in regions A5 to A8 closeto the center of the hovering camera.

Note that, although the body of the hovering camera 100 is shown to be asimplified quadrangular body with regard to the illuminating device 105illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9 , a real hovering camera 100 may have acurved surface as its body surface, in this case, a light emissiondirection of the respective light sources 106 constituting theilluminating device 105 may be appropriately set according to thesurface shape of the body. In addition, the lens for changingdirectionality of the light sources 106 introduced in the above exampleis an example, and characteristics of a lens to be used (a directionalangle, peak illuminance, or the like to be adjusted with the lens) arenot limited to the above example. Furthermore, a lens having a pluralityof characteristics may be used to configure light sources 106 having aplurality of different directionalities and to make the illuminancedistribution in the photographing range S substantially uniform with acombination thereof.

(3) Light Amount Control of Illuminating Device according to Inclinationof Body

The hovering camera 100 according to the present embodiment modulates alight amount of the illuminating device 105 according to an inclinationof the body with the control unit 110. Although the illuminating device105 according to the present embodiment is designed to have asubstantially uniform illuminance distribution in the photographingrange S as described above, if the body is in an inclined stateresisting wind or the like, it may not be possible for the illuminatingdevice 105 to realize a target illuminance distribution in thephotographing range S at a photographing position. For example, althoughattitude control is performed during photographing such that the bodyflat surface 100 a of the hovering camera 100 is substantially parallelto the photographing plane while maintaining a set distance d therefrom,the hovering camera 100 may be inclined due to, for example, theinfluence of wind, or the like. Then, the body flat surface 100 a of thehovering camera 100 is inclined with respect to the photographing plane,and for the light sources 106 provided in the outer circumferential partof the body flat surface 100 a, a distance from the light sources 106 tothe photographing plane may become longer than the set distance d.

Therefore, the control unit 110 controls a light amount of theilluminating device 105 such that an illuminance distribution in thephotographing range S is substantially uniform at a photographingposition according to an inclination of the body of the hovering camera100 sensed by the sensor unit 130 mounted in the body. Since theilluminating device 105 may be fixed to the body and only theinclination of the imaging device 101 may be adjusted, a drivingmechanism of operable parts of the hovering camera 100 can besimplified, and as a result, the hovering camera 100 can be lightweight.

Light amount control of the illuminating device 105 will be described inmore detail based on FIGS. 11 and 12 . Light amount control according toan inclination of the body of the hovering camera 100 when the body isinclined with respect to a horizontal reference plane and light amountcontrol according to an inclination of the body of the hovering camera100 with respect to a photographing target will be described below. Notethat FIG. 11 schematically illustrates the imaging device 101 and theilluminating device 105 of the hovering camera 100. In FIG. 11 ,although the imaging device 101 is illustrated on a light emission plane105 a of the illuminating device 105 in order to facilitateunderstanding of the imaging direction of the imaging device 101, aninstallation position of the imaging device 101 is not limited to thatposition, and may be on, for example, one side surface of the hoveringcamera 100 as illustrated in FIG. 2 .

First, light amount control according to an inclination of the hoveringcamera 100 when the body is inclined with respect to a horizontalreference plane will be described. The control is executed when, forexample, the back face portion of the bridge girder 3 of the bridge 1 issubstantially parallel with the horizontal plane as illustrated in FIG.1 and the body of the hovering camera 100 is inclined with respect tothis back face portion.

First, the control unit 110 acquires an inclination of the body of thehovering camera 100 based on information acquired by the sensor unit130. At this time, the control unit 110 determines whether or not thehovering camera 100 is inclined with respect to a photographing plane ofa photographing target using sensing information of the laser rangefinders provided at a plurality of places on the hovering camera 100 asthe information from the sensor unit 130. Whether or not the hoveringcamera 100 is inclined with respect to the photographing plane of thephotographing target may be determined based on, for example, whetherdistances measured by the plurality of laser range finders provided onthe same plane of the hovering camera 100 include at least one differentvalue.

When the distances measured by the respective laser range finders aresubstantially the same (for example, when differences between therespective distances are within a predetermined range), the illuminancedistribution in the photographing range S is determined to besubstantially uniform, and thus the control unit 110 decides not toperform light amount control of the illuminating device 105. On theother hand, when the distances measured by the respective laser rangefinders include at least one different value, the control unit 110determines the hovering camera 100 to be inclined with respect to thephotographing plane of the photographing target. Then, the control unit110 acquires the angle θ by which the light emission plane 105 a isinclined with respect to a horizontal plane P with reference to thehorizontal plane P because the photographing plane of the photographingtarget is substantially parallel with the horizontal plane in thepresent example. The angle θ can be acquired using, for example,acceleration information of the acceleration sensor or angular velocityinformation of the gyro sensor as the information from the sensor unit130.

If the light emission plane 105 a is inclined with respect to thehorizontal plane P by the angle θ, an irregular illuminance distributionof light radiated from the illuminating device 105 occurs on thephotographing plane Wa that is substantially parallel with thehorizontal plane P. For example, in FIG. 11 , the right side (R) withrespect to the paper surface is inclined such that it is more distantfrom the photographing plane Wa (i.e., the left side (L) with respect tothe paper surface approaches the photographing plane Wa). At thismoment, if the light amount of the light sources 106 disposed on theright side (R) is assumed to be the same as the light amount of thelight sources disposed on the left side (L), it is more difficult forlight of the light sources 106 on the right side (R) distant from thephotographing plane Wa to reach the photographing plane Wa than lightfrom the light sources on the left side (L). Therefore, the right side(R) has a lower illuminance distribution than the left side (L) on thephotographing plane Wa, and thus illuminance is not substantiallyuniform in the photographing range S.

Thus, by adjusting a light amount of the light sources 106 constitutingthe illuminating device 105 according to the inclination angle θ of thelight emission plane 105 a with respect to the horizontal plane P, anilluminance distribution on the photographing plane Wa becomessubstantially uniform in the present embodiment. FIG. 12 illustrateslight output ratios of the light sources 106 of the illuminating device105 when an inclination angle of the light emission plane 105 a withrespect to the horizontal plane P is set to, for example, 20°, anddifferences of illuminance in an upper right region and an upper leftregion of the photographing range S on the photographing plane Wa. Here,the photographing range S was divided into five regions including acenter region C, and an upper right region UR, an upper left region UL,a lower right region BR, and a lower left region BL that were formed bydividing the photographing range S in the left, right, upper, and lowerdirections.

Thus, with regard to the light sources 106 facing the right regions (theupper right region UR and the lower right region BR) and the lightsources 106 facing the left regions (the upper left region UL and thelower left region BL), a light output ratio was changed and then theilluminance difference between the upper right region UR and the upperleft region UL at that time was measured. Note that characteristics ofthe respective light sources 106 constituting the illuminating device105 are set to be the same, and an adjustment amount of a light amountof the respective light sources 106 is expressed as a ratio when a lightamount that the light sources 106 can output at a maximum rating is setto 100%. The result is shown in the graph in the lower part of FIG. 12 .

As illustrated in the lower part of FIG. 12 , first, light output ratiosof all the light sources 106 facing the right regions and light sources106 facing the left regions were assumed to be 50%, and all the lightsources 106 constituting the illuminating device 105 were assumed toemit the same amount of light. At that time, the illuminance differencebetween the upper right region UR and the upper left region UL was 83[lux]. Thereafter, when the light output ratio of the light sources 106facing the left regions was gradually reduced while the light outputratio of the light sources 106 facing the right regions was graduallyincreased, the illuminance difference between the upper right region URand the upper left region UL became smaller as illustrated in the lowerpart of FIG. 12 . In addition, it was ascertained that, when the lightoutput ratio of the light sources 106 facing the right regions was setto 85% and the light output ratio and the light sources 106 facing theleft regions was set to about 25%, the illuminance difference betweenthe upper right region UR and the upper left region UL in thephotographing range S became substantially zero.

If a light amount of the light sources 106 is adjusted so thatilluminance differences between respective regions in the photographingrange S become zero, an illuminance distribution in the photographingrange S can be made substantially uniform.

The hovering camera 100 stores in the storage unit 140 in advance anoutput value of the respective light sources 106 at which theilluminance differences between the respective regions of thephotographing range S are a predetermined value or smaller for eachinclination angle θ of the light emission plane 105 a with respect tothe horizontal plane P. The set output value of the respective lightsources 106 may be decided based on, for example, a result ofmeasurement obtained using a real machine, or may be decided based on asimulation result. The control unit 110 of the hovering camera 100acquires from the storage unit 140 a set value of the illuminatingdevice 105 corresponding to the inclination of the body acquired fromthe results of measurement of the sensor unit 130, and controls anoutput (light amount) of the respective light sources 106 of theilluminating device 105 using the illuminating control section 115.

Note that the illuminating control section 115 may control each of thelight sources 106 constituting the illuminating device 105, or controlthe respective light sources 106 for each of predetermined groups. Inthe case of the illuminating device illustrated in FIG. 9 , for example,the light sources may be controlled for each of eight regions A1 to A8.

On the other hand, a light amount may be controlled according to aninclination of the body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to aphotographing target. When, for example, a photographing target such asthe back side portion of the bridge girder of the bridge is inclinedwith respect to a horizontal plane and the body of the hovering camera100 is inclined as well with respect to the photographing target, theinclination of the body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to thephotographing target may be calculated as described below and thereby alight amount of the illuminating device 105 may be controlled.

Also in this case, the control unit 110 acquires the inclination of thebody of the hovering camera 100 based on the information acquired fromthe sensor unit 130. The inclination of the body of the hovering camera100 may be performed using sensing information of the laser rangefinders provided at a plurality of places on the hovering camera 100 asthe information from the sensor unit 130 similarly to above. When alldistances measured by the respective laser range finders are notsubstantially the same, the body of the hovering camera 100 isdetermined to be inclined with respect to the photographing plane of thephotographing target.

When the body of the hovering camera 100 is inclined with respect to thephotographing plane of the photographing target, the control unit 110calculates the inclination angle of the body of the hovering camera 100with respect to the photographing target, and uses it in control of alight amount of the illuminating device 105. The inclination angle ofthe body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to the photographingtarget can be acquired from, for example, when the inclination of thephotographing plane of the photographing target with respect to thehorizontal plane P is known, the inclination of the photographing planeof the photographing target with respect to the horizontal plane P andthe inclination of the body with respect to the horizontal plane Pacquired using the gyro sensor. Alternatively, the inclination angle ofthe body of the hovering camera 100 with respect to the photographingtarget may be acquired geometrically from distances measured by theplurality of laser range finders.

When the inclination angle of the hovering camera 100 with respect tothe photographing target is acquired, the control unit 110 acquires theset value of the illuminating device 105 corresponding to theinclination of the body from the storage unit 140, and then controls anoutput (light amount) of the respective light sources 106 of theilluminating device 105 using the illuminating control section 115. Notethat the set value stored in the storage unit 140 may be the same asinformation used when light amount control is performed based on theinclination angle θ of the body with respect to the horizontal plane Pas described above.

[5.3. Exemplary Control of Imaging Device and Illuminating Device atTime of Photographing]

Exemplary control of the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device105 at the time of photographing of the hovering camera 100 according tothe present embodiment will be described below based on FIGS. 13 to 15 .Note that FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the exemplary control of the imagingdevice 101 and the illuminating device 105 at the time of photographingof the hovering camera 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 14is a flowchart for describing an example of shutter control of theimaging device 101. FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustratingsituations of change in speed and acceleration of the hovering camera100 at the time of photographing work based on flight information.

When photographing work based on flight information is started, thehovering camera 100 first sets photographing parameters that are settinginformation of the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device 105(step S200). The photographing parameters include, for example, ashutter speed and a photographing gain of the imaging device 101, setilluminance of the illuminating device 105, and the like. Thephotographing parameters are set in advance in, for example, the storageunit 140 of the hovering camera 100. The photographing parameter settingsection 111 acquires photographing parameters necessary for gaining animage quality required for a captured image from the storage unit 140,and outputs them to the illuminating control section 115 and the shuttercontrol section 117 to set them for the imaging device 101 and theilluminating device 105.

Next, the detection information acquisition section 113 acquiresposition information of the body and body information at the time ofphotographing acquired by the sensor unit 130 and the positioninformation acquisition unit 132 (step S202). For example, the detectioninformation acquisition section 113 outputs the acquired various kindsof information to the illuminating control section 115 and the shuttercontrol section 117. Accordingly, the illuminating control section 115and the shutter control section 117 can start control of theilluminating device 105 and the imaging device 101 so as to attain thephotographing parameters set in step S200.

The hovering camera 100 continues movement to a photographing pointuntil it reaches the photographing point. Here, when the hovering camera100 enters a photographing area that is a predetermined range includingthe photographing point, the photographing point gets closer, and thusthe control unit 110 starts preparation for photographing (step S204).First, the illuminating control section 115 turns on the illuminatingdevice 105 (step S206). The illuminating device 105 may have been turnedon during the movement to the photographing point, or may performilluminating of the photographing range S at the time of photographing.If the illuminating device 105 is turned on when the hovering cameraenters the photographing area and gets close to the photographing point,the time for which the illuminating device 105 is turned on can beshortened, and battery consumption can also be suppressed.

With regard to the entering into the photographing area, it may bedetermined that the hovering camera 100 has entered the photographingarea at a time point at which, for example, the hovering camera hasstarted reducing its speed to stand still at the photographing point.Alternatively, it may be determined that the hovering camera 100 hasentered the photographing area when an area at a predetermined distancefrom the photographing point is defined as the photographing area andthe presence of the hovering camera 100 within the photographing area isspecified from position information of the body.

When the illuminating device 105 is turned on, light of the respectivelight sources 106 of the illuminating device 105 is modulated accordingto the inclination of the body obtained from the body information asdescribed above. This light modulation is performed at the photographingpoint such that the illuminance set based on set parameters is ensuredand the illuminance distribution in the photographing range S on thephotographing plane become substantially uniform.

Next, the shutter control section 117 starts shutter control of theimaging device 101 (step S208). The shutter control section 117 releasesthe shutter of the imaging device 101 when the hovering camera 100reaches the photographing point to acquire an image at the photographingpoint. If the attitude of the hovering camera 100 of this time is in astable state, blurring barely occurs in the photographed image, and thusa more highly precise image can be acquired. Thus, the shutter controlsection 117 determines whether the absolute value of the speed of thehovering camera 100 is smaller than a threshold speed v_(th) and theabsolute value of the acceleration is smaller than a thresholdacceleration a_(th) as illustrated in FIG. 14 to determine whether ornot the attitude of the hovering camera 100 is stable (step S2081).

When the hovering camera 100 enters the photographing area and the speedlinearly decreases as illustrated in FIG. 15 , for example, theacceleration of the hovering camera 100 changes by describing a parabolaof negative values. On the other hand, when photographing ends at thephotographing point and the speed of the hovering camera 100 linearlyincreases to start moving to the next photographing point, theacceleration changes by describing a parabola of positive values.However, when the hovering camera 100 does not move, the speed and theacceleration are substantially zero, and the hovering camera 100 is in astable state approximating to a standing still state. At this time,since vibration of the body of the hovering camera 100 is weak, theimaging device 100 can perform photographing without being significantlyinfluenced by the vibration of the body. The threshold speed v_(th) andthe threshold acceleration a_(th) are set to, for example, positivevalues substantially close to zero.

Then, when the absolute value of the speed of the hovering camera 100 issmaller than the threshold speed v_(th), and the absolute value of theacceleration is smaller than the threshold acceleration a_(th), theshutter control section 117 causes the shutter to be driven to performphotographing (step S2083). At this time, the shutter speed of theimaging device 101 is decided based on the exposure time set in stepS200 of FIG. 13 . Thus, since the photographing by the imaging device101 is performed at the shutter speed at which the influence of thevibration of the body can be eliminated, a highly precise image with noblurring can be acquired.

Note that the shutter control process illustrated in FIG. 14 is aprocess executed between steps S208 to S214 of FIG. 13 .

Returning to the description of FIG. 13 , during the period in which theshutter control section 117 starts shutter control in step S208 and endsthe shutter control in step S214, the illuminating control section 115continues the light modulation of the illuminating device 105 accordingto the inclination of the body of the hovering camera 100. Note that theoperation of light modulation may be stopped during the exposure timefor photographing and the light source state may be fixed. Then, whenthe shutter works in step S2083 of FIG. 14 and photographing iscompleted (step S212), the shutter control section 117 ends the shuttercontrol (step S214), and the illuminating control section 115 turns offthe illuminating device 105 (step S216).

Thereafter, the control unit 110 determines whether or not photographingat all photographing points set in the flight information has beencompleted (step S218). When there is a remaining photographing point atwhich photographing has not been completed in step S218, the hoveringcamera 100 moves to the next photographing point (step S220), andrepeats the processes from step S202. On the other hand, whenphotographing has been completed at all the photographing points in stepS218, the hovering camera 100 returns to the base station 600, and endswork.

Exemplary control of the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device105 at the time of photographing by the hovering camera 100 according tothe present embodiment has been described above. Note that, although thecase in which both the light modulation of the illuminating device 105by the illuminating control section 115 and the shutter control by theshutter control section 117 are executed has been described above, thepresent disclosure is not limited to this example. Light modulation ofthe illuminating device 105 by the illuminating control section 115 andshutter control by the shutter control section 117 can be executedindependently of each other.

[5.4. Lens Inclination Control of Imaging Device]

The control unit 110 of the hovering camera 100 according to the presentembodiment has the attitude control section 119 which controlsinclination of the lens of the imaging device 101 as illustrated in FIG.6 . The imaging device 101 has a first driving unit that causes the lensof the imaging device 101 to rotate in a tilt direction to change aphotographing direction of the imaging device 101 in the tilt direction.Accordingly, photographing at the same position can be continuedregardless of an inclination of the body.

In addition, the hovering camera 100 according to the present embodimentmay further have a second driving unit which adjusts an inclination ofthe lens in a roll direction to acquire more highly precise images.Accordingly, even when vibration of a low frequency equal to or lowerthan 100 Hz occurs to the body due to a disturbance, for example, windor the like, the influence of the vibration on photographing can beeliminated by the attitude control section 119 causing the seconddriving unit to be driven to adjust an inclination in the rolldirection.

The first driving unit 162 and the second driving unit 164 for drivingthe lens of the imaging device 100 can be provided as illustrated in,for example, FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG. 16 is a schematic front diagram of alower frame unit 107 of the hovering camera 100 according to the presentembodiment. FIG. 17 is a schematic perspective diagram illustrating thefirst driving unit 162 and the second driving unit 164 for driving thelens of the imaging device 101 from a plane side.

As illustrated in FIG. 16 , the imaging device 101 is provided facing,for example, the front side (the positive Y axis direction) of the lowerframe unit 107 of the hovering camera 100. The lens of the imagingdevice 101 is provided to be rotatable in the tilt direction by thefirst driving unit 162 as illustrated in FIG. 17 . Accordingly, aphotographing direction of the imaging device 101 can be set to facefrom a downward side to a front side and further to an upward side. Inaddition, the lens of the imaging device 101 according to the presentembodiment is provided to be rotatable in the roll direction by thesecond driving unit 164 that is provided, for example, on the back side(the negative Y axis direction, and the inner side of the hoveringcamera 100) of the imaging device 101 as illustrated in FIG. 17 . Thesecond driving unit 164 can cause the lens to rotate in the rolldirection by, for example, about ±15° from the state in which theimaging device 101 is facing the front.

By providing a biaxial servo mechanism in the lens as described above,not only can photographing of the same position be performed regardlessof an inclination of the body, but also low-frequency vibration can beremoved, and thus more highly precise image can be acquired.

<6. Conclusion>

So far, the configuration of the hovering camera 100 constituting theinspection system 10 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, inspection work using the same, and control of theilluminating device 105 and the imaging device 101 at the time ofacquiring an image have been described. The hovering camera 100 controlsattitudes of the body and photographing conditions of the imaging device101 and the illuminating device 105 mounted in the flight vehicle,without using a large-sized gimbal, a single-lens reflex camera, or thelike.

For example, the hovering camera 100 has the illuminating device 105,and the sensor unit 130 provided inside the hovering camera 100 sensesan inclination of the body by the illuminating control section 115, anda light amount of the illuminating device 105 is adjusted according tothe inclination of the body. Accordingly, illuminance of thephotographing plane can be maintained substantially uniformly at a fixedvalue or higher, and images having a given level of quality can beobtained, without changing parameters of the imaging device 101.

In addition, by increasing a shutter speed that is a photographingparameter of the imaging device 101, the influence of high-frequencyvibration that is not resolved with general hand-shake correction iseliminated. Accordingly, highly precise images with little blurring canbe acquired. Furthermore, by providing the servo mechanism that candrive the lens of the imaging device 101 to rotate around two axes ofthe tilt direction and the roll direction, the influence oflow-frequency vibration can be eliminated while maintaining a fixedphotographing direction.

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has/have beendescribed above with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above examples. A personskilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that theywill naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure.

In order to make an illuminance distribution in the photographing rangeS on the photographing plane substantially uniform in the presentembodiment, for example, only the inclination of the imaging device 101is adjusted and the illuminating device 105 adjusts a light amount tomake illuminance obtained when light is radiated onto the photographingplane substantially uniform. However, the present technology is notlimited thereto. For example, by integrating the imaging device 101 andthe illuminating device 105 and adjusting their inclination, theilluminance distribution in the photographing range S on thephotographing plane can be made substantially uniform. In this case,since the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device 105 can becontrolled as one unit, the illuminance distribution in thephotographing range S necessary for photographing can be easily set.Note that, when the imaging device 101 and the illuminating device 105are integrated, the sizes of operable portions of the hovering camera100 increase, and thus an increasing overall weight should be taken intoaccount.

In addition, the effects described in the present specification aremerely illustrative and demonstrative, and not limitative. In otherwords, the technology according to the present disclosure can exhibitother effects that are evident to those skilled in the art along with orinstead of the effects based on the present specification.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

-   (1)

A control device including:

an illuminating control unit configured to adjust a light amount of anilluminating device according to an inclination of a body of a flightvehicle device that has an imaging device configured to photograph aphotographing target and the illuminating device configured toilluminate the photographing target.

-   (2)

The control device according to (1), wherein the inclination of the bodyis an inclination with respect to a horizontal plane.

-   (3)

The control device according to (1), wherein the inclination of the bodyis an inclination with respect to the photographing target.

-   (4)

The control device according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein theilluminating control unit adjusts a light amount of the illuminatingdevice so that illuminance of a photographing plane of the photographingtarget becomes substantially uniform.

-   (5)

The control device according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein theilluminating control unit turns on the illuminating device when enteringa photographing area in a vicinity of a photographing point at which theflight vehicle device photographs the photographing target.

-   (6)

The control device according to any one of (1) to (5), including:

a shutter control unit configured to control a shutter of the imagingdevice,

wherein the shutter control unit operates the shutter when a movementspeed of the flight vehicle device is equal to or lower than apredetermined value and movement acceleration of the flight vehicledevice is equal to or lower than a predetermined value.

-   (7)

A control method including:

acquiring an inclination of a body of a flight vehicle device withrespect to a photographing target, the flight vehicle device includingan imaging device configured to photograph the photographing target, andan illuminating device configured to illuminate the photographingtarget; and

adjusting a light amount of the illuminating device according to theinclination of the body.

-   (8)

A flight vehicle device including:

an imaging device configured to photograph a photographing target;

an illuminating device configured to illuminate the photographingtarget; and

a control unit configured to adjust a light amount of the illuminatingdevice according to an inclination of a body with respect to thephotographing target.

-   (9)

The flight vehicle device according to (8), wherein the control unitadjusts a light amount of the illuminating device so that illuminance ofa photographing plane of the photographing target becomes substantiallyuniform.

-   (10)

The flight vehicle device according to (8) or (9), wherein theilluminating device includes a plurality of LED light sources.

-   (11)

The flight vehicle device according to (10), wherein a plurality oflight sources are installed in a two-dimensional array shape on one or aplurality of surfaces constituting the flight vehicle device, the one orplurality of surfaces facing the photographing target.

-   (12)

The flight vehicle device according to (11),

wherein the plurality of light sources are installed in a plurality ofregions, and

the control unit controls light amounts of the plurality of lightsources for each of the plurality of regions according to theinclination of the body

-   (13)

The flight vehicle device according to (11) or (12), wherein theplurality of light sources include an LED light source.

-   (14)

The flight vehicle device according to any one of (10) to (13), whereinat least some LED light sources among the LED light sources have anoptical member that changes directionality.

-   (15)

The flight vehicle device according to any one of (8) to (14),including:

a first driving unit configured to drive the imaging device to rotatethe imaging device in a tilt direction; and

a second driving unit configured to drive the imaging device to rotatethe imaging device in a roll direction.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

10 inspection system

100 hovering camera

101 imaging device

104 a to 104 d rotor

105 illuminating device

108 a to 108 d motor

110 control unit

111 photographing parameter setting section

113 detection information acquisition section

115 illuminating control section

117 shutter control section

119 attitude control section

120 communication unit

130 sensor unit

132 position information acquisition unit

140 storage unit

150 battery

200 control terminal

300 information processing device

400 wireless relay node

500 position estimation node

600 base station

700 charging station

The invention claimed is:
 1. A control device, comprising: a processingcircuit configured to: control a flight of a flight vehicle device inaccordance with flight information including at least flight pathinformation of the flight vehicle device, the flight vehicle deviceincluding an imaging device, acquire, using a sensor, state informationof the flight vehicle device, determine a start of a reduction in speedof the flight vehicle, determine, from the start of the reduction inspeed of the flight vehicle, whether the flight vehicle device hasentered a photographing area around a photographing point, determinewhether the state information of the flight vehicle device indicates astable state by determining whether a movement speed of the flightvehicle device is equal to or below a first threshold and determiningwhether a movement acceleration of the flight vehicle device is below asecond threshold, determine whether the flight vehicle device reachesthe photographing point, and control the imaging device to capture animage of a target during the stable state of the flight vehicle deviceat the photographing point, wherein the processing circuit is furtherconfigured to activate a shutter of the imaging device when the attitudeof the flight vehicle device is determined to be stable.
 2. The controldevice according to claim 1, wherein the flight vehicle device includesan illumination device, and the processing circuit is further configuredto cause the illumination device to emit light when the flight vehicledevice is within a predetermined distance of the target.
 3. The controldevice according to claim 2, wherein the light emitted by theillumination device is modulated based on a body position of the flightvehicle device.
 4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein thelight emitted by the illumination device is modulated so that the targetis uniformly illuminated.
 5. The control device according to claim 1,wherein the movement speed of the flight vehicle device linearlydecreases when the flight vehicle device enters the photographing area.6. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration ofthe flight vehicle device according to a parabola of negative values. 7.A control device, comprising: a processing circuit configured to:control a flight of a flight vehicle device in accordance with flightinformation including at least flight path information of the flightvehicle device, the flight vehicle device including an imaging device,acquire, using a sensor, state information of the flight vehicle device,determine a start of a reduction in speed of the flight vehicle,determine, from the start of the reduction in speed of the flightvehicle, whether the flight vehicle device has entered a photographingarea around a photographing point, determine whether the stateinformation of the flight vehicle device indicates a stable state bydetermining whether a movement speed of the flight vehicle device isequal to or below a first threshold and determining whether a movementacceleration of the flight vehicle device is below a second threshold,determine whether the flight vehicle device reaches the photographingpoint, and control the imaging device to capture an image of a targetduring flight of the flight vehicle device in case that it is determinedthat the state information indicates the stable state of the flightvehicle at the photographing point, wherein a shutter speed andphotographing gain of the imaging device are set and stored in theimaging device in advance.
 8. The control device according to claim 7,wherein the processing circuit is further configured to activate ashutter of the imaging device based on the shutter speed andphotographing gain stored in the imaging device.
 9. The control deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the processing circuit is configured tostop modulation of the light emitted by the illumination device when ashutter of the imaging device is activated.
 10. The control deviceaccording to claim 9, wherein the processing circuit is configured toturn off the illumination device when activation of the shutter iscomplete and image capture has ended.
 11. The control device accordingto claim 1, wherein the flight information is determined relative to ahorizontal plane.
 12. The control device according to claim 1, whereinthe flight information is determined relative to the target.
 13. Acontrol method, comprising: controlling, with circuitry, a flight of aflight vehicle device in accordance with flight information including atleast flight path information of the flight vehicle device, the flightvehicle device including an imaging device; acquiring, by the circuitryand using a sensor, state information of the flight vehicle device;determining, by the circuitry, a start of a reduction in speed of theflight vehicle; determining, by the circuitry, from the start of thereduction in speed of the flight vehicle, whether the flight vehicledevice has entered a photographing area around a photographing point,determine, by the circuitry, whether the state information of the flightvehicle device indicates a stable state by determining whether amovement speed of the flight vehicle device is equal to or below a firstthreshold and determining whether a movement acceleration of the flightvehicle device is below a second threshold; determining, by thecircuitry, whether the flight vehicle device reaches the photographingpoint; controlling, by the circuitry, the imaging device to capture animage of a target during the stable state of the flight vehicle deviceat the photographing point; and activating a shutter of the imagingdevice when the attitude of the flight vehicle device is determined tobe stable.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded withcomputer-readable instructions that, when executed by processingcircuitry, cause the processing circuitry to perform a methodcomprising: controlling a flight of a flight vehicle device inaccordance with flight information including at least flight pathinformation of the flight vehicle device, the flight vehicle deviceincluding an imaging device; acquiring, using a sensor, stateinformation of the flight vehicle device; determining a start of areduction in speed of the flight vehicle; determining, from the start ofthe reduction in speed of the flight vehicle, whether the flight vehicledevice has entered a photographing area around a photographing point;determining whether the state information of the flight vehicle deviceindicates a stable state by determining whether a movement speed of theflight vehicle device is equal to or below a first threshold anddetermining whether a movement acceleration of the flight vehicle deviceis below a second threshold; determining whether the flight vehicledevice reaches the photographing point; controlling the imaging deviceto capture an image of a target during the stable state of the flightvehicle device at the photographing point; and activating a shutter ofthe imaging device when the attitude of the flight vehicle device isdetermined to be stable.